1. Field of the Invention
The art relates to hanging devices and ceiling clips for ceilings, primarily suspended ceilings, with specific application, but not limitation, to classroom use.
Pertinent prior ceiling clips or hanging systems related to the invention can be found in U.S. Patent Class 248, subclasses 317, 323, 328, 329, and 330.1; additionally; U.S. Patent Class 40, subclass 601 and 617; additionally, U.S. Patent Class 242, subclass 385.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many buildings around the world are fitted with suspended ceilings, which are constructed of inverted “T-shaped” members that cross one another creating a rectangular grid on which lighting, venting, and ceiling panels are positioned. This adjustable, retractable hanging system was conceived for use upon such ceilings, although its utility is not limited to same.
This invention was conceived to address specific needs of teachers, but has wide application for use, especially wherever suspended ceilings are installed. Presently, teachers or other individuals who wish to hang student work or embellish a ceiling with decoration or signage must use hanging devices that require ladders. In a school environment, given the difficulty accessing and utilizing ladders, teachers often stand on desks to reach ceiling t-bars, other ceiling constructions, or high points on walls, an action too often resulting in injury to teachers or students. Risk managers of school districts report that “non-ladder” falls, specifically related to teachers standing on desks, remain a significant source of injury to teachers. However, while this invention, at its inception, was geared to the classroom environment, it has utility in numerous applications outside the classroom. For example, in a work environment, perhaps there is sufficient room to employ the use of a ladder. However, ladders themselves pose a risk, as many individuals, even those who use ladders as a regular part of their working experience, sustain falls. This invention will prevent such injuries.
Existing hangers that are intended for lightweight use do not always offer mounting apparatuses that preclude ladder use, do not reliably provide for easy movement or removal of the hanger, do not offer ease in reaching the mounted hanger, and offer little or no flexibility in changing the height of the item to be hung. While some heavyweight hangers have been patented that allow access from standing height, they are generally devised to suspend weighty signage in commercial settings. As such, they are massive, heavy, expensive, difficult to move, and cannot be affixed to the ceiling without the use of a ladder. Moreover, no patented or commercial hanging apparatuses or systems address the dual problems of making both ceilings and high walls accessible for the teacher or other individuals without the use of a ladder.
Ceiling hangers of many types are currently marketed, but no previous embodiment offers a dynamic system that presents both ease of installation without the use of ladders, flexibility of placement and removal, retractable linkage, and applicability to both ceiling and wall. To illustrate, U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,550 employs a partially flexible ceiling bar attachment mechanism intended for suspended ceilings, from which extends a hook. Opposing flanges grip the sides of the t-bar to position it in place. U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,215 presents a ceiling bar attachment with fixed opposing flanges that when pivoted against the t-bar, grasp both sides to form opposing points of contact. U.S. Pat. No. D321,639 offers a clipping mechanism, also intended for suspended ceilings, that uses sliding opposing flanges for clasping the edges of a ceiling rail. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,153 presents a clipping mechanism intended for use in suspended ceilings whose design allows for multiple linkages in a chaining fashion from the original point of attachment. Each of the above cited hangers is deficient since each requires ladders for installation, lacks ease of ceiling attachment or removal, lacks ease in attaching materials to be suspended, lacks ease in adjustability in suspension height of the material to be hung, and lacks utility in wall applications.
Other prior art, while offering a system to assist in hanging items without ladder assistance, offers neither the simplicity of operation, the retractable cabling, or the adjustability in suspension depth required for low-ceilinged interior application. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,490,651; 6,976,662 B2, and D580,747, each an improvement upon previously cited art, offer ceiling hook systems which allow for snap-fitted or interlocking ceiling clips that grasp the ceiling bars, and which also employ poles that pressure fit the ceiling hooks to the suspended ceiling members. These hooking apparatuses are deficient, however, in that the hooks are fixed to the ceiling, making attachment and removal of items to be hung difficult. Moreover, both hangers and poles are deficient in that they cannot be used for wall applications. Further, each of the above cited art cannot in themselves provide the user variability in the hanging height of the items.
Also related, U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,845 offers a retractable device housed within a crossbar configuration that allows a user to raise or lower signage from a floor standing position, thereby allowing flexibility in height adjustment. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,610 offers a bar-type hanging device with a take-up reel. However, these inventions, due to their mass, are clearly intended for heavy industrial or commercial use since they require ceiling heights well in excess of the typical 8-9 feet within a classroom. Furthermore, the complicated structures of these systems cause them to be cost-prohibitive for applications identified here. Moreover, while these inventions employ a tool for raising or lowering the signage, they do not offer a tool for mounting and removing the original hanger from the ceiling. Thus, ladders must be used in their initial application. Additionally, these devices have no adaptability to wall use.
Of possible relevance, prior art involving simple take-up reels exists, three of which are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,833,165 and 6,073,875, and 7,380,357 B2. Though these patents employ retracting reels, given that these reels were intended for use at pocket height for badge or key application, the reels are deficient in that they do not have the stop-mechanism employed as in this embodiment and do not readily attach to walls or ceilings in that neither offers either the ceiling clip, adhesive or magnetic mount offered in this system or the cup and pole assembly. Consequently, they are not effective for use on both ceilings or walls. U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,623, a take-up reel devised to reduce the loss of tool parts unique to a work situation, does not easily attach to a ceiling or wall, and does not offer a line stop of any sort. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,556,184 and 5,065,971 devices intended for plant hanging, offers a take-up reel construction with latching similar to that used on window shades. This art, intended to suspend heavy plants, relies on a winding take-up reel and locking mechanism that would not be practical in classroom applications. Also, this device cannot be affixed to a ceiling without the use of a ladder, is not adaptable to wall applications, and does not offer mobility of placement.
Other retractors intended may have relevance. U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,706, a device intended for ceiling applications, employs a take-up reel construction with latching similar to that used on dog leashes with extending and retracting mechanisms. It does affix to ceiling cross-members on suspended ceilings wherein the acoustical tiles lie on the same plane as the t-bar; however, its mounting apparatus does not have applicability to suspended ceilings where the t-bar is inverted from the plane of the acoustical tiles. Additionally, as this art is not part of an articulated system, it does not provide a means by which the user can easily affix or remove the hanger from the ceiling or wall without the use of a ladder. U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,175 B1, a simple take-up reel that pivots to reduce the friction involved in extending the cable, offers neither a means by which it might be attached to ceiling or wall, or a means by which the retraction force might be halted before the cable is fully withdraw into the retractor. U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,304 B2 is a simple device that offers a retractable cord for securing electronic devices to prevent damage. Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,187,996, 2007/0170333 A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,519 B2 offer retracting devices, but must be permanently mounted to ceilings. These devices are deficient in that they do not easily attach to ceiling or wall, they require a ladder for application, and since they are permanently mounted, they are impractical for occasional signage use.
Of interest to the inventors was the development of a cable stopping mechanism that would allow the user of the hanging system the ability to adjust the hanging height simply and efficiently. Previously mentioned reels in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,833,165 and 6,073,875 offer no adjustable stopping mechanism. In these applications, the cable stops only when fully retracted. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,285 B2, a sign hanger, utilizes a retractor, but cannot be easily mounted to ceilings without the use of a ladder or chair, and does not employ a line stop.
Prior art found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,845 utilizes a motorized system to halt the cable, a system both too expensive and impractical for lightweight use. U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,610 offers a cable stopping mechanism that encases the cable and is tightened or opened with a thumbscrew. U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,706 employs an internal stopping mechanism that is controllable from the exterior of the hanger with a finger switch that responds to pressure. This art is deficient in that the stopping mechanism must be engaged at the hanger, making it awkward for the user to execute from a standing position on the floor. Users of U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,706 must remove the hanger from the ceiling to engage or release the stopping mechanism, creating one more step in its execution, making it less efficient, especially since this art does not provide a system by which the hanger can be easily applied to or removed from the ceiling. Additionally, the attachment mechanism in U.S. Pat. No. 7,610,706 is not practical for wall application, making no provisions for same. None of the prior art offers the simplicity of action as that offered by the cable-stop in the embodiment.
Of additional interest may be prior art addressing hanging systems for walls. U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,528 B2 details a suspension device that employs pulleys to lift banners. This device lacks the applicability to both wall and ceiling, employs no retractors or cable-stop, and must utilize a ladder to affix it to a wall.
The superiority of the hanger, the installation cup, and this system, then, is enhanced by the ease by which the hanger can be attached, moved, and removed from the walls or ceilings on which the hanger is used, all without the use of a ladder. When attached to the telescoping pole, the specialized cup holds the ceiling hanger and assists in affixing the hanger to the ceiling or the wall, while the user installing the assembly remains at floor level. Within the cup is a flexible gasket that temporarily stabilizes the hanger within the cup as it is lifted to the ceiling or wall by use of the pole. Projecting from the exterior of the cup is a fin shaped appendage that is used to grasp the art clip which dangles from the hanger, lower it to within easy reach, and facilitate attachment of the material to be hung. (Art clips can take many forms. Here, a simple spring mechanism is illustrated.)
Prior art offers poles or pole assemblies that are associated with hanging devices, that raise and lower the hanging apparatus, but which fall short of the design utility of the cup and pole assembly within this system. Poles previously noted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,490,651; 6,976,662 B2; and D580,747 are examples of such. These pole assemblies just assist in mounting the hanger, but do not raise and lower the hanging apparatus to within the user's reach. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,725, is applies a scissor-type action on a pole assembly to compress clips for applications to ceilings, but cannot assist in bringing hangers within reach. Discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,870,845 and 6,634,610 assist in drawing the hangers within easy reach, but do not assist in mounting or removing the hangers from the ceiling.
Of further interest may be prior art that utilizes an application system that lofts items to a ceiling and twists to engage their placement. U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,146 employs a mounting system with a flexible arm similar to this system, however, the component parts assist in lofting and refitting smoke detector and as such do not address the needs of hanging signage in a simple or efficient manner. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,738 B2 offers a means by which items may be attached to a ceiling by lofting a supporting device by means of a pole, which is then coupled to a base attached to the ceiling. However, the base attachment that receives the device to be mounted must be secured to the ceiling by means of screws, and conceivably, utilizing a ladder. Since the base is fixidly secured, there is little flexibility of movement that this system affords.
Clearly, while some pole assemblies may be used to apply or remove the hangers and some will assist in bringing the hanger within arm's reach, none can do all of the above, and none of the prior hanging devices are adaptable to wall applications.
Of possible interest is other prior art related to just poles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,519 reveals a levered pole for hanging objects. U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,601 utilizes a telescoping pole with a simple hook assembly. Other poles of possible relevance can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. D497,086; 5,553,905; 5,052,733 and 4,135,692. These pole assemblies are deficient in that they do not have adaptations that (a) lower the hooking apparatus to within typical standing reach, (b) easily move the hanger to new locations, (c) easily provide for the hanger's removal, and (d) attach the hanger to both the ceiling and wall.